Related Articles

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi warned world powers on Monday that Islamist militants are ravaging the Middle East and pose a threat to everyone's security.

"Be alert to what is happening in the region ... This region is being destroyed right now and we should not let this happen," Sissi said in a televised speech.

"This matter concerns not just the Arab world. It concerns the entire world," he said, naming the United States, Russia, China and Europe.Militants have long challenged pro-Western Arab countries, and Egypt itself faces an Islamist insurgency based in the Sinai peninsula.

But a lightning advance by the Islamic State through major oil producer Iraq has rung alarm bells from Cairo to Washington.

The al-Qaida offshoot declared itself a "caliphate" last month, weeks after overrunning the northern city of Mosul and seizing swaths of land north and west of the capital.

Top U.S. defense officials said last week Iraq's security forces were able to defend the capital, Baghdad, but would have difficulty going on the offensive to recapture lost territory, mainly because of logistic weaknesses.

Sissi did not name the Islamic State in his speech, but the mention of "countries that are being destroyed and divided in the name of religion" was a clear reference to their actions in Iraq and neighboring Syria.

Sissi told Reuters before his election in May that Egypt needed U.S. support to combat militants, who have stepped up attacks on Egyptian security forces since the army toppled President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood just over a year ago, killings hundreds in bombings and shootings.

The government has declared the Brotherhood a terrorist group, but the Brotherhood says it is a peaceful movement.

The former army chief warned that the Sinai could turn into a base for "terrorism," destabilizing Egypt and the region.

Most of Sissi's speech focused on efforts to revive the economy and fix state finances, which have been battered by more than three years of political turmoil.

He said his government's decision to cut subsidies for fuel and electricity were necessary to improve Egypt's budget deficit, which is set to hold at 10 percent of economic output in the next three years.

Gulf Arab allies opposed to the Brotherhood have extended more than $12 billion in cash and petroleum products to help Egypt stave off economic collapse. But Sissi said reforms, not aid, were needed to ensure long-term stability.

"Our brothers stood by our side," he said. "But for how long and then what?"

Once built, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge will span 2 kilometers with about 1.5 kilometers over water, and will be longest suspension bridge in world carrying rail system More

This forum has been closed.

Comment Sorting

Comments

by: Niamatullah from: Kabul

July 08, 2014 7:46 AM

How can Sisi say in his word extremist destroying region and threaten world, he his self with his local friends (Amar Musa,Mohammad Al bradie)and Foreign Friends Britain has attack mosques , and kill more than twenty thousand innocent people last year in Eygept . he and his Friends are the extremist and those who destroying region and world.

by: Ali Baba from: new york

July 07, 2014 10:44 PM

As he is the president of Egypt , he understand the danger of extremist. He was witness for one year how Muslim brotherhood are so violent and committed several crimes. At the same times that terrorist organization can be defeated easily by local Gov. During President Mubarak, he was able to put them under control. If each country fight them ,they will disappear .

by: Mudabber from: Pakistan

July 07, 2014 10:02 PM

Sisi, YOU are responsible for the mess created in Egypt. YOU, the dictator deposed the democratically elected president. Your government is immoral & illegitimate.

by: Alexander M Swan from: USA

July 07, 2014 9:18 PM

Egypt Military now able to suppress the country but it is only a temporary solution. Long term solution is required to prevent from the bloodshed revolution in future. Education to the people is very important to avoid the extremism. The shared power distribution with the oppositions in the government administration is very important too because it will protect the country from division in future with killing each other.

by: Melody from: Australia

July 07, 2014 8:22 PM

hey VOA, who cares about Egypt..?? egypt can go to hell...we want to hear more about Israel - Israel is the most incredible place in the world - we want to hear more about ISRAEL !!!

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Fifty years ago, lawmakers approved, and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The measure outlawed racial discrimination in voting, giving millions of blacks in many parts of the southern United States federal enforcement of the right to vote. Correspondent Chris Simkins introduces us to some civil rights leaders who were on the front lines in the struggle for voting rights.

Video

Billions of dollars of so-called ‘dirty money’ from the proceeds of crime - especially from Russia - are being laundered through the London property market, according to anti-corruption activists. As Henry Ridgwell reports from the British capital, the government has pledged to crack down on the practice.

Video

Ottawa, Illinois, is the hometown of W.D. Boyce, who founded the Boy Scouts of America in 1910. In Ottawa, where Scouting remains an important part of the legacy of the community, the end of the organization's ban on openly gay adult leaders was seen as inevitable. VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports.

Video

Artificial limbs, including the most complex of them – the human hand – are getting more life-like and useful due to constant advances in tiny hydraulic, pneumatic and electric motors called actuators. But now, as VOA’s George Putic reports, scientists in Germany say the future of the prosthetic hand may lie not in motors but in wires that can ‘remember’ their shape.

Video

A British pro-democracy group has accused Russia of abusing the global law enforcement agency Interpol by requesting the arrest and extradition of political opponents. A new report by the group notes such requests can mean the accused are unable to travel and are often unable to open bank accounts. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

Video

Talks on a major new trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations are said to be nearing completion in Hawaii. Some trade experts say the "positive atmosphere" at the discussions could mean a deal is within reach, but there is still hard bargaining to be done over many issues and products, including U.S. drugs and Japanese rice. VOA's Jim Randle reports.

Video

Earth is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction. The last such event was caused by an asteroid 66 million years ago. It killed off the dinosaurs and practically everything else. So scientists are in a race against time to classify the estimated 11 million species alive today. So far only 2 million are described by science, and researchers are worried many will disappear before they even have a name. VOA’s Rosanne Skirble reports.

Video

Scientists have long been trying to develop an effective protection and cure for malaria - one of the deadliest diseases that affects people in tropical areas, especially children. As the World Health Organization announces plans to begin clinical trials of a promising new vaccine, scientists in South Africa report that they too are at an important threshold. George Putic reports, they are testing a compound that could be a single-dose cure for malaria.

Video

The latest issue of 'New York' magazine features 35 women who say they were drugged and raped by film and television celebrity Bill Cosby. The women are aged from 44 to 80 and come from different walks of life and races. The magazine interviewed each of them separately, but Zlatica Hoke reports their stories are similar.

Video

The United States is promising not to give up its fight against what Secretary of State John Kerry calls the “scourge” of modern slavery. Officials released the country’s annual human trafficking report Monday – a report that’s being met with some criticism. VOA’s National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin has more from the State Department.

Video

Abandoned more than 50 years ago, the underground streetcar station in Washington D.C.’s historic DuPont Circle district is about to be reborn. The plan calls for turning the spacious underground platforms - once meant to be a transportation hub, - into a unique space for art exhibitions, presentations, concerts and even a film set. Roman Mamonov has more from beneath the streets of the U.S. capital. Joy Wagner narrates his report.

Video

Greece has replaced Italy as the main gateway for migrants into Europe, with more than 100,000 arrivals in the first six months of 2015. Many want to move further into Europe and escape Greece’s economic crisis, but they face widespread dangers on the journey overland through the Balkans. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

Video

After the closure of a major rubbish dump a week ago, the streets of Beirut are filling up with trash. Having failed to draw up a plan B, politicians are struggling to deal with the problem. John Owens has more for VOA from Beirut.

Video

A U.N. climate conference in December aims to produce an ambitious agreement to fight heat-trapping greenhouse gases. But many local governments are not waiting, and have drafted their own climate action plans. That’s the case with Paris — which is getting special attention, since it’s hosting the climate summit. Lisa Bryant takes a look for VOA at the transformation of the French capital into an eco-city.